The reporter recently learned that in recent days, the 2020 International Mountain Tourism Day Online Event will kick off on May 29, with the theme of “Pandemic Crisis and Challenges & Opportunities for Mountain Tourism”. The event will run online forums, host online discussions, and publish the Report on World Mountain Tourism Development Tendency (2019), and be broadcast simultaneously through a range of channels, including TripAdvisor China, Trip.com Group’s WeChat mini-program, Tencent News App, and the IMTA’s official website. Leaders from the tourism industry from across the world will come together and jointly discuss how to respond to the crisis of the pandemic, the challenges and opportunities that it will bring, and the implications for the future of mountain tourism.

International Mountain Tourism Day was launched by the International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA), and aims to arouse public awareness about protecting mountain resources and preserving mountain civilization and public responsibility for promoting mountain economy to the benefit of people living in mountainous regions; and to initiate a positive, healthy and uplifting lifestyle, to construct an excellent mountain tourism environments, and promote the sustainable development of mountain tourism.

Because of COVID-19, the 2020 “International Mountain Tourism Day” will go ahead as scheduled, but will now be conducted online, kicking mountain tourism into a higher gear as it begins to restart. This year, the online event will be jointly hosted by IMTA and Trip.com Group, with the support and assistance of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and other tourism organizations. The event takes “Pandemic Crisis and Challenges & Opportunities for Mountain Tourism” as its theme, and will be comprised of two main parts; “Expert’s Outlook and Academic Perspective” and “Industry Views and Brainstorm”, with experts, academics and industry elites invited to take part in joint discussions on the impact of COVID-19 on the mountain tourism industry, and the post-epidemic recovery and revitalization.

During the event, IMTA Chairman and former Prime Minister of France, Dominique de Villepin, IMTA Vice Chairman and former Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, Shao Qiwei, IMTA Secretary General and former Vice Foreign Minister, He Yafei, Vice Governor of the Provincial Government of Guizhou Province Hu Zhongxiong, CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Gloria Guevara， Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Mario Hardy, CEO of the European Tourism Association (ETOA), Tom Jenkins, Vice President of the Departmental Council of Savoie, France, Michel Bouvard, former Director for Sustainable Development of Tourism at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and former director general for Tourism within the Chilean Government, Eugenio Yunis, Chairman of Beijing Tourism Group, Song Yu, leading expert at the World Tourism Cities Federation and Secretary General of the China Leisure Association, Wei Xiao’an, Co-founder & Chairman of Trip.com Group, James Liang, SVP of Trip.com Group, Li Xiaoping, TripAdvisor China CEO Kimi Liu, head of the China Project from the Center for Land Research (CLR) of Trier University of Applied Sciences, Zhou Li, Huway.com CEO Zhang Haifeng, and other industry experts and entrepreneurs will take part in joint discussions focusing on topics including the environment, resources, science and technology, industry, markets and policies. They will discuss the effect of the pandemic on the mountain tourism industry, market recovery, and rejuvenation post COVID-19, and the challenges and opportunities the industry is facing. From multiple dimensions, they will put forward views, methods, and paths about how to actively respond to quality improvement, new market trends, and the healthy development of mountain tourism.

Besides this, the Honorary Secretary General of the UNWTO will also publish the Report on World Mountain Tourism Development Tendency (2019). Members and friends of the industry will send in special “International Mountain Tourism Day” video messages, conveying IMTA members’ and the global mountain tourism industry’s hopes and expectations for the recovery and joint development of mountain tourism in the wake of the pandemic.

To coincide with the beginning of the International Mountain Tourism Day 2020 event, Trip.com Group will actively integrate products and content relating to mountain tourism destinations on their platforms during the second quarter. Whilst publicizing mountain tourism brands, Trip.com Group will also promote the sales growth of products through holding events, and promote the recovery of mountain tourism together with its partners in the industry.

This online event is taking place under remarkable circumstances, which lends International Mountain Tourism Day 2020 a special significance, and will bring confidence and positive energy to the recovery and revitalization of the industry after the epidemic. The organizers hope that their colleagues in the mountain tourism field can actively participate in this event, and offer their constructive views and suggestions. Meanwhile, they also hope to capture the attention and earn the support of cultural tourism circles and from other sectors in society more broadly, and work together to contribute towards the recovery and development of the tourism industry.